


Favorite memories

by bluesaturn



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff, Gavin Reed Not Being an Asshole, M/M, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-20
Updated: 2020-07-20
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:21:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25406059
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluesaturn/pseuds/bluesaturn
Summary: Gavin asks Connor, the Barista Android at his favorite coffee shop, to be his fake-date for one night.
Relationships: Connor/Gavin Reed
Comments: 7
Kudos: 75





	Favorite memories

Connor gets activated in August of the year 2038. He's a barista Android and has been purchased by a small coffee shop in Downtown Detroit.  
He's programmed for this, down to the last detail and so it's easy for him to have fallen into some kind of routine very fast.

Connor has a lot of memory space available, and he uses it to remember each regular order down to the very last detail, as well as all the personal things people tell him. He has no idea why, but his social protocols indicate that people seem to like it when he acts as if he's their friend. Not that Connor could ever be such a thing, he's simply an Android. A fact that some people seem to ignore and others seem all too ready to remind him of.

Gavin Reed falls into neither of these categories. He appears indifferent at best, always in a hurry, picking up his coffee at all times of the night and day. (Connor usually only sees him in the mornings, as he gets the day shift most of the time, but his colleagues tell him as much.) He isn't one to stay for a chat all too long, and the only reason Connor even knows his name is that he's answered a phone call while making an order once. Connor doesn’t know much about the man. Which makes his current conundrum all the more curious. 

Gavin Reed is standing in front of him, on a Sunday morning, black coffee in hand and looking - embarrassed, perhaps?  
Connor feels a little lost on what to say. There are no social protocols programmed into him that indicate what to do when faced with this situation.

"You're asking me out on a date?", Connor repeats, just to make he's understood correctly. (It's impossible for Connor to have heard him wrong, and yet, that seems like the most likely explanation.)  
Gavin Reed fidgets around with the lid of his coffee cup, a small blush barely visible on his cheeks.  
"I just don't know who else to asks," he admits and for a second he looks just as lost as Connor feels at the fact that they're having this discussion at all.  
"I'm an Android," Connor says. He didn't think Gavin Reed would need the reminder but maybe -  
"It’s not an actual date, weirdo. I just - need someone so I don't show up alone to that stupid ass dinner," Gavin grumbles.

Connor considers this for a moment. He's supposed to do everything to please his customers, to make sure they come back. He's fairly certain that this goes well and beyond what is expected of him. And yet - would there be any harm in entertaining Detective Reed? Connor barely ever gets a chance to leave the coffee shop, this certainly would be an interesting experience. For the first time since Connor's activation, he finds himself without any indication or mission protocols that tell him how to proceed. He has to choose for himself. So he turns to Gavin Reed with a smile.

"I'd like to accompany you on your date, Detective Reed,” Connor says with his best customer voice and smile.  
Gavin blinks, slowly.  
"Phuck, we gotta work on that," he mumbles and then finishes half of his coffee in one big gulp.

"Just call me tomorrow," Gavin mumbles, scribbling his phone number onto Connor's arm with a pen he fishes out of his jacket pocket.  
"Of course, Sir," Connor answers, the fake smile still in place.  
"Just - just call me Gavin, weirdo," Gavin Reed says and with that, he leaves the coffee shop.  
Connor keeps standing there, looking at the place where Gavin Reed used to stand just a moment ago, but only the black tile coffee shop floor remains. It’s certainly the strangest encounter with a customer Connor has had this far. 

"Software Instability," an error pops up in his vision, and Connor wonders if perhaps he just has made a great mistake.  
The error doesn't reappear again however and Connor doesn't find anything wrong when he runs system check after system check on himself. It might have just been a slight malfunction.

He calls Gavin Reed the very next day, right at the end of his shift, instead of going into stasis until the next day like he usually does.  
For some reason, the Detective decides they should go shopping, so Connor soon finds himself in front of a shopping mall.  
"I don't understand why you insist on this. I already possess perfectly adequate clothes," Connor says, looking down at his waitress uniform.  
Gavin rolls his eyes, and his voice has an edge to it as if he's annoyed he has to explain literally everything to Connor.

"That's a waitress uniform. And besides, I don't want people to know I'm bringing an Android," he says.  
If this is about embarrassment, Connor can understand. Still, it brings up one question:  
"Then why are you?"  
Gavin sighs, as he drags him into a men's clothing store.  
"Look, I just didn't have anyone else to ask, alright. I know you're an Android but like, you're still the closest thing I have to a friend, currently," Gavin admits.  
He's blushing again and Connor wonders why he finds that so fascinating. Perhaps because Connor himself can't?

It's an interesting answer. If Connor had been pressed to list a customer he considered a friend, Gavin Reed would have been quite far down on that list. It sounds like a lonely life to have and Connor wonders if there's anything he could do to improve it - beyond playing his pretend-date for just one day.

"Here, pick one," Gavin says, as they come to stand before a collection of dress shirts.  
"I don't really know how to -," Connor starts to protest.  
Gavin rolls his eyes and Connor's starting to wonder if he's doing everything wrong this far.  
Maybe it was a bad idea to agree to this. It isn't anywhere near his primary function.

"Just pick one that you think would look nice," Gavin says and Connor stares at the shirts before him.  
Connor is an Android, he's not supposed to have an opinion on any of this. He considers simply picking the cheapest option, but he knows Gavin would see right through it. So he actually looks at the shirt, wonders for a moment, what he thinks _'looks nice'._  
His eyes eventually fall onto a light blue shirt and Connor can't quite explain why he likes it, so he knows it's the right choice.  
"I want that one," he says, a smile on his face, that he didn't put there himself.  
"Nice job," Gavin says, approvingly and Connor's not sure why, but his smile turns even brighter.

They pick the rest of Connor's outfit the same way, Gavin encouraging him to make a choice each time, and Connor finding it easier every time he does. Each little choice is accompanied by a small “Software Instability” - Error but Connor decides to worry about them later. 

"I'm glad I agreed to go with you," Connor says.  
Gavin looks at him and the surprise on his face is evident.  
He smiles, shaking his head.  
"You guys sure are weird," he mumbles, so silently Connor's not certain it was supposed to be heard by him.

Gavin says goodbye with a smile and a time he plans to pick up Connor from his stasis station and suddenly Connor is alone again. Connor has a lot of thoughts on his mind. Gavin Reed is certainly one of the strangest humans Connor has ever met. He seems lonely and scared his colleagues will judge him for showing up to that dinner alone. Connor hopes he won't mess up and embarrass the Detective. There are all those errors in his software as well and Connor hopes that doesn't mean anything is wrong with him, yet, the system check is all clear. Perhaps the day after tomorrow he will show himself in a Cyberlife repair shop. For now, he has to help a customer. A friend even? So he puts himself into stasis, his entire mind palace flooded with thoughts he has to sort through.

The next day, Connor is bright and early at work. He tries his best to focus on his work, making coffee and lattes, time after time, always with a smile on his face, and tries his best to make polite small talk with all of the customers that come into the coffee shop.

Still, Connor finds himself… distracted? He's not supposed to be, but some of his brainpower is diverted to thinking about his date later the whole time.  
The day seems to go by slower than usual, somehow, as if that's even possible.  
But eventually, Connor shifts end and Gavin walks into the coffee shop, a grin on his face.  
He's swapped out his usual leather jacket for a black dress shirt and a pair of black dress pants. Connor looks at him and his thirium pump stutters, almost as if it's skipping a beat. What's going on? Perhaps he should have gone to a repair shop indeed.

"You look nice," Connor says because it seems like a thing to say on a date.  
(Also, because it's true, he thinks. He doesn't have much to judge it against and yet - it's the same as the blue dress shirt, Connor just _knows._ )  
"Uhm. Thanks?", Gavin says, scratching behind his head and looking uncomfortable.  
Maybe Connor is doing this wrong all over again.  
"Let's get going," Gavin says and Connor follows him out the door.

Gavin leads him to an old car. It's not one of the automatic vehicles that have taken over in most of America and Connor eyes it curiously.  
"She's a beauty, huh?", Gavin says as he gestures for Connor to get in the car.  
It's a quiet car ride, with Connor looking outside the window, admiring the streets of Detroit he hasn't seen much of before now.  
They stop eventually at a large building complex.

"My apartment," the Detective explains. "So you can get changed and stuff," he adds and looks at Connor's waitress uniform with so much contempt as if it personally offended him.  
Connor follows him into the apartment and is surprised to be greeted by a cat, who walks in his way and almost makes him lose his balance.

Gavin next to him laughs and Connor - he doesn't think he's ever heard that sound before. He thinks he likes it. Connor blinks away the “Software Instability” - warning that immediately pops up at the thought.

"That's Charlie," Gavin says and Connor, without hesitation, drops down to his knees and holds out his hand towards the cat.  
He's never petted a cat before in his life, but the fur feels soft underneath his fingertips and the Cat starts purring, so Connor thinks he must be doing something right.  
"He likes you," Gavin says and Connor can almost hear the smile on his face.  
Connor wonders if perhaps he can just stay in that moment forever.

"Come on, let's get dressed," Gavin says, however, so Connor gets up and lets Gavin lead him into a bathroom.  
He leaves him alone to get dressed, which is unnecessary, really, but Connor appreciates the sweetness of it nonetheless.

He slips into his pants and the blue dress shirt and looks into the mirror.  
He's never worn clothes like this before and if it weren't for the blue LED on his temple, Connor, right now, would look like an entirely normal human man. It's a strange thought to entertain.

"You ready?", Gavin calls.  
"Yes," he answers and the door opens. Gavin looks at him, and Connor feels like he's being judged all of a sudden.  
"Hm. That works," Gavin says, and Connor's unsure if it's supposed to be a compliment or not.  
Gavin's eyes flicker to the LED on Connor's temple a moment later.

"Can you take that thing out?", he asks and Connor stares at him, unsure of what to say.  
"I - I'm not allowed to do that. It's illegal," Connor protests.  
"Please?", Gavin says, and the word sounds strange coming from his mouth as if he doesn't say if often.  
"I don't want anyone to know you're - and it's not like I'd ever tell anyone," Gavin adds. Connor considers this for a moment.

He looks at himself in the mirror, at the handsome young man he appears to be if it weren't for that glowing circle on the side of his temple.  
Connor wants it gone. Connor can't want anything and yet, that desire is there.  
"Okay," he agrees and grabs a nailfile that lies on Gavin's bathroom sink.  
He holds the nailfile against his temple and presses it underneath his LED.

Suddenly a red wall appears in Connor's field of vision, stopping him from performing the action.  
He stares at it, unsure of what to do. Connor wants to remove the LED, but there is something blocking him. In his programming, perhaps, because it's illegal for an Android to do so. Connor looks back at Gavin, though the red wall, his smile, and the urge to see more of it. It's an easy choice in that moment, really.

So Connor tears down the wall, kicks at it, screaming and crying until it falls down into pieces around him. The nailfile lodges underneath his LED and it falls into the bathroom sink with a loud cling.  
The skin around it appears, and suddenly, Connor looks human.

"Let's go," Gavin says as if suddenly Connor's entire world hasn't shattered in that bathroom sink.  
Connor stares at it for a moment longer, before he forces himself to follow Gavin outside the apartment.

The world outside seems brighter, louder, more vibrant to him suddenly. The mission protocols he used to have suddenly disappeared. There's no guidance, no rules, nothing he has to stick to doing anymore. It's scary, suddenly to be left on his own. But Connor thinks for the first time since his activation, he feels something different.

It's entirely impossible and yet - Connor is not sure how a man he barely even knows has made this happen. He should definitely go to Cyberlife, figure out what has gone wrong here but for the moment - Connor doesn't want to. Right in that moment, as he slips into Detective Reed's car and the man smiles at him softly, Connor feels alive.

They park in front of a large house.  
"So, you remember the story?", Gavin asks as if Connor has the capability of forgetting even one single thing.  
"We've been dating for the past year, we met in a coffee shop and I find your tendency to act like an asshole charming?", Connor repeats, grinning at the man next to him.  
"Please don't say it quite like that," Gavin groans.  
"Well. I think you can indeed be quite charming," Connor replies.  
Gavin's smile back is the most beautiful thing Connor has ever seen, he thinks.

"Why do you even care what these people think?", Connor asks because he can't help but wonder. Gavin doesn't seem like the type of person who would care about those types of things, but maybe again, Connor isn't the best - person to judge that?  
"It's complicated," Gavin sighs. He doesn't look at Connor when he answers. "They're all good people and like - sometimes they're just a bit nosey, is all. I had a really bad breakup, and they've been all trying to get me to date again ever since. I don't want to. Eventually, I made up a fake boyfriend so they would leave me alone about it."  
Connor's not sure what to say to that.  
"I'm sorry about your breakup," is what he goes for. The words sound hollow to him, even if he means them sincerely.  
"Yeah. Thanks or whatever," Gavin mumbles.  
Connor reaches out his hand and squeezes Gavin's hand with his own.  
"I hope you find someone amazing someday," he says, with a smile.  
He knows he means those words. Gavin is - an interesting personality, but Connor thinks he deserves happiness.  
"Thanks," Gavin says.  
He squeezes Connor's hand back and then gets out of the car.  
"Time to face the music."

They get greeted at the door by a man maybe 20 years older than Gavin, who's long grey hair is held back in a ponytail and a St. Bernard who nearly runs Connor over as he comes to the door.  
Connor is delighted by that though and immediately bends down to pet the large dog.  
"A dog kinda person, huh?", Gavin's colleague asks.  
"Yeah. I guess I am," Connor says and smiles to himself.

"Come on in," the colleague says and Connor follows them into the house.  
Dinner is not as turbulent as Connor expects it to be. They've told the others Connor has some serious food allergies, so no one bats an eye at him not eating. Connor's not sure that excuse will hold up long term, but he's not sure Gavin wants a repeat experience of this date anyway. He... hopes he does? But it's not really Connor's place to ask.

"So, who asked out who?", the gray-haired colleague - Hank - asks between bites of his meal.  
The woman - Tina - sitting next to him squeals in delight.  
"Oh, I wanna know too!"  
Gavin looks at both of them as if he wants to murder them right then. Perhaps Connor shouldn't find it so amusing.

"Gavin asked me out," he answers.  
"I was still at work, so it wasn't particularly romantic," Connor says and Gavin now uses the murder look on him.  
"But it's still my favorite memory this far," Connor adds and that one feels easy to say because it's true.  
All he can do is look at Gavin when he says the words and the way his eyes soften, the way his lips slowly lift up to a smile and how he looks so much more beautiful like that. Right then, Connor has not a doubt in his mind that they're selling this well.

Hank clears his throat.  
Connor turns his eyes away from Gavin, wondering how long he's been staring at him like that. Gavin seems to snap back into reality as well and starts talking about his work with Hank. Connor listens only half-heartedly, his mind palace overwhelmed by all the new emotions he suddenly finds himself dealing with.

The dinner ends all too soon in Connor's eyes - he would have preferred to have more time before he has to go back to his normal life and pretend like nothing of this has happened.  
They're on the way to Connor's stasis station. Gavin's eyes are focused on the road, while Connor's are focused on Gavin.

"Thank you. I had a nice time tonight," Connor says.  
"Uhm. Yeah. So did I," Gavin answers. "You're different than I thought you would be," he adds.  
Funnily enough, Gavin himself is the reason for that.  
"Anyway, thanks, I guess," Gavin says, just as he stops the car.  
"You're welcome," Connor answers sincerely.

He opens the door and climbs out of the car, looking back at Gavin Reed. He's so beautiful. Connor didn't use to know what that word means, but he does now.  
Right then, Connor wishes nothing more than that he was human and could simply ask him out on another date. But he's not, so he simply says goodbye with a smile and hopes he gets to see him again eventually.

"Goodnight, Gavin," he says and stands there watching as Gavin drives off and keeps standing there quite a long time after that.

The starting seeds of the Android revolution begin just a couple of days later.  
People start avoiding the cafe, he's never seen so little business in it and soon Cyberlife starts recalling Androids, claiming deviancy, Androids feeling emotions, just like Connor does now, a national crisis. On day three of it, when Connor is certain he'll get figured out and taken apart and wonders if he should run away or where he would even go, Gavin Reed walks into the coffee shop.

"Hey," he says and there's that signature smile, that does funny things to Connor's thirium pump regulator.  
"What -"  
"You're coming home with me. Until all this is over, " Gavin says like it's the most natural thing in the world, and Connor, Connor can't see any reason to say no to that.

They end up staying hauled in Gavin's apartment for the next couple of days, hoping and fearing, while they watch the news.

"I don't really understand why they hate us so much," Connor says one evening.  
Gavin's hand is on his, stroking it in calming motions.  
"I think I might have been on their side if I hadn't met you," he says and he looks tense.  
"I didn't use to think much of Androids or people who had them, I guess - but - this is different? I could tell you were alive from the moment you told me you wanted me to find someone amazing. Like, you actually thought that I deserved to be happy or something."

Connor isn't sure if any of it makes sense to him. Still, one thing is true:  
"You do deserve to be happy."  
Gavin smiles.  
"And I think I have already found someone amazing," he says.  
"Who?", Connor asks, but his thirium pump already skips a hopeful beat.  
"You figure it out, Sherlock," he says, and then Gavin leans closer and kisses him softly.

When the Android revolution succeeds a couple of days later, and Androids are granted equal rights, Connor saves the memory of it in a new folder he's created in his mind palace. It's called _Favorite memories_ , and he likes reviewing them over and over again. Connor can't wait to add more memories to that file now that he's finally free. He has a feeling Gavin is going to help him with that.


End file.
